NORTH BETHESDA – Since William Shakespeare first wrote “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet” around 1593, the play about the ill-fated romance between two young people from feuding noble families in Verona, Italy has been adapted into many different settings for stage and screen productions.

ANNAPOLIS - In a move some county officials say creates stability and others say consolidates power, the head of the Montgomery County delegation has introduced a state bill on the county’s behalf to allow the Planning Board chair and vice chair an extra term.

State News

Thursday was not a good day for the last governor of Virginia as Bob McDonnell was found guilty of corruption in a Richmond courtroom.
But another former Republican governor of Virginia, George Allen, had a better day of it in Howard County, talking up the candidacy of state Senate hopeful Jody Venkatesan in District 13 and other candidates at a Clarksville ballroom.
“There were a lot of folks from Maryland who helped me out” in his successful race for governor of Virginia 20 years ago, Allen told a crowd of about 50, and he was happy to return the favor.
Venkatesan is running against Democratic Del. Guy Guzzone for the seat now held by retiring Democratic Sen. Jim Robey. In 2010, Venkatesan lost the Republican primary for the seat that represents much of eastern and southern Howard County, but ran unopposed in June.
“In every way, Jody is running on the issues that matter...

BALTIMORE - Pepco is asking the Maryland Public Service Commission (MPSC) for its third rate increase in three years. The company is asking for more than $43 million in rate increase which, if approved, will become effective on July 4, 2014. The increase will raise the monthly bill of Montgomery County and Prince George’s County customers by $4.80.

ANNAPOLIS- The Gansler-Ivey campaign calls a recent complaint by the Brown-Ulman campaign a phony campaign trick and a stunt to distract voters from Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown’s failure with the…

Welcome to the new Middle Ages. Take a seat and read – if you can.
I feel a world class rant coming on prompted by the young food server who mispronounced a middle-eastern dish I’m fond of and accused me of being a racist when I corrected his pronunciation.

Brian Williams has been suspended from NBC for six months while Jon Stewart announced this week he’s leaving the Daily Show after 16 years of anchoring the fake news show that many have come to see as more vital than the real news.

Sports

ROCKVILLE – The 4A West , number one seeded Magruder Colonels will have to head into the post-season without their starting point guard and two of their bench players.
The point guard, sophomore David Garey, along with junior forward Isaac Chouili and junior guard Peter Nankhuni were suspended from the basketball team for violating school policy according to head coach Dan Harwood. “They have broken school rules and are off the team for the remainder of the season,” Harwood said.
Montgomery County Public School’s ( MCPS) pubic information director, Dana Tofig, confirmed there had been an “incident” at Magruder but did not speak about the details. Tofig said that students were dealt with according to MCPS’s code of conduct that is based on the disciplinary regulations passed by the state’s department of education.
“I can assure you that serious, appropriate consequences were meted out to the students involved,” said Tofig.
In addition to being...

ROCKVILLE - At Meryl Hathaway’s fifth-grade graduation from Luxmanor Elementary School, she told the class she wanted to be in a movie. Years later, Hathaway is achieving part of her dream as a cast member on Fox’s “Riot”, a show that Hathaway describes as a mix of ABC’s “Wipe Out” and improvisational comedy. The show is produced by actor/comedian Steve Carell and will feature a celebrity host every week.

BETHESDA- Theater enthusiasts who want to attend the world premiere of a provocative new play have no need to travel to Broadway this month. From March 20-April 12, the Writer’s Center in Bethesda will host the Doorway Arts Ensemble’s production of the new play Morning, Miranda.

ROCKVILLE – After multiple appeals in court to avoid it, the city has finally turned over parts of an investigative report to a former employee suing Rockville for discrimination.
The attorney representing the city, Kevin Karpinski, has turned over redacted summaries of interviews with five Rockville employees to Donald Dorsey under a confidentiality order to which both parties agreed on Feb. 18.

ANNAPOLIS – As Montgomery County’s four drones lie in wait, the General Assembly is examining ways to protect privacy while still allowing public safety officials, businesses and hobbyists to use drones.

ROCKVILLE – Pipes burst, work crews struggled, pedestrians slipped and car wrecks on county streets increased after close to a foot of snow hit Montgomery County on Saturday, surprising residents and officials with its early start and large buildup.